Don’t tell Cleveland baseball fans how long other teams have been waiting for a world series title. If you were alive the last time it happened in ‘The Land’, You’re in your seventies.
I mean who doesn’t remember Gene Bearden’s terrific 20-7 season with a sparkling 2.43 ERA for the 1948 edition in Cleveland. Well actually probably nobody. The more famous pair of Bob Feller and Bob Lemon, both hall of famers is an easier recall.
It was a pretty good run back then. From 1948 to 1956 they placed first or second every year but twice and were third and forth in the other two. After that? Brutal.
Aside from 1959 and not counting the strike season of 1981. they went 37 years finishing no closer than eleven games out of first place. Thats’s 1957 until 1993. Thirty seven years!
They played in old Municipal Stadium (The mistake by the lake), seating more than 80,000 and mostly empty for decades. And then it changed.
It was a team led by a group of amazing your hitters: Manny Ramirez (23), Jim Thome (24), Carlos Baerga (26) two young veterans Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton, both 28, Plus some grizzled veteran pitchers like Orel Hershiser and Dennis Martinez.
This group went 100-44. Knocked off the Red Sox and Mariners before bowing out to Atlanta in the world series. It started a run that despite a rebuild here and there has been a perennial contender since.
So many chances, so much pain
This being their 14th appearance in the post season since but no championships to count. There has been pain however. 1997 and 2016 sticking deep in their craw. Many have never forgiven reliever Jose Mesa for ’97.
Mesa, the closer at the time, was on the mound in the 9th inning of game seven and allowed the tying run with a championship two outs away. Eventually lost in eleven innings to the Florida Marlins.
And of course 2016 when the Chicago Cubs wiped away a century of their own world series futility again ending Cleveland’s dream in game seven in extra innings.
Since then it’s been a whole lot of playoff disapointment. Four post seasons in seven years and not a single league championship series until now.
They’ve seen magic to help get them here. David Fry’s 2 run homer to turn around game 4 in the seventh inning and stave off elimination. And Lane Thomas’ gran slam off the league’s best pitcher Tarik Skubal to clinch a spot in the ALCS.
They’ve seen the Cubs up close erase a century of curses. So why not them? Gene Bearden would be so proud!
